> I blame the clothes. On TV the other night I happened to catch a bit of
> "Cromwell" (1970), with Richard Harris chewing the scenery in the title
> role, ably supported, as one reviewer notes, by "Alec Guinness' waspish King
> Charles I appearing, on occasion, as if he were channeling Oscar Wilde." My
> main takeaway was that the 17th century was Western Civ's absolute low point
> for fashion. Who wouldn't be depressed dressed in an outfit like that
> illustrated in the Dutch Masters Cigars logo? Wearing shapeless black
> clothing with a white collar that looks like a baby's bib, topped off by the
> ugliest hat ever to appear on a human head, would make anyone suicidal.
> <http://www.altadisusa.com/cigar/dutchmasters.asp>
The era coincides with the disappearance of the codpiece. Nothing is quite so jocular as a codpiece.
-- Andy